Leapfrog jobs and presidential politics

This morning, a very talented young woman asked me for advice. Should she go work on the Obama campaign, or find a job that will be less stressful, more inclusive and more aligned with her immediate goals (not to mention better paying)? I didn’t hesitate before suggesting she work for Obama. And not because I’m such a huge Obama fan.

No. Because for a talented young woman, a place at HQ of a presidential campaign will pay dividends for the rest of her life. The truth is, there are some jobs you can take when you’re young that act just like getting an MBA from Stanford or a law degree from Harvard. When you leave them, they allow you to leapfrog several years ahead of your rightful place on the career ladder. Working at Google or Apple is one of these jobs. In my world, it’s working on a political campaign or in an Administration in a staff role.

The recent article on Sheryl Sandberg in the New Yorker highlighted her incredible smarts, drive and people skills. But I also found noteworthy how Sandberg got herself into a leapfrog job (U.S Treasury) at a young age. There, she had the sponsorship of Larry Summers and got experience and exposure well beyond her qualifications. Only from Treasury was she able to jump to Google, Facebook and the stratosphere.

So if you’re young and you have an opportunity to work on a major political race or in an Administration, do it, even though it will be exhausting, full of landmines and extremely aggressive people who’d kick you aside in a second to get ahead.